The Receiving End
by CMLUK
Summary: A detailed record of Driger and Ramsay's first meeting with the guardian of the woods. T for language.


**Establishing short and trial chapter, bit of context for a larger-scale project with these characters in future. Practice for the format, I guess. Mostly just posting it here because the website's format is good.**

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Wispy tendrils of light crept through the tangled canopies of aging, frost-bitten maple trees. The intermittent crackling of distant leaves indicated that some life still remained in the winter-gripped forests of Arctos, where the squatters sooner feared frostbite than predators. Snow settled on tree branches and fell from leaves, a ghastly paleness to what was once verdant and grassy.

A figure, clad in thick fabric, ducked against a tree, the low scraping of stone against steel resonating through what was once a dull silence. With hair as white as the snow itself, a pair of radiant wine-coloured eyes contrasted the stranger's otherwise pallid figure, who was sharpening a hefty, onyx-coloured greataxe.

Suddenly, there it was again. The distant crinkling of leaves. Visitors, the stranger thought to themselves - the tone was too pronounced to be forest critters, they noted. Humans? It must have been. The day was too young for the shadow of Arctos to be skulking through this part of the forest. Their whetstone was kept steady against the weapon, ears attuned to the distant sound of... conversation?

"...just saying, there's no guarantees he'll agree to help us. My brother is one of the most stubborn people you'll ever meet."

"We're half a planet away from home, pursuing who you claim is Westwood's finest pit fighter. He's coming with us - whether he likes it or not."

Their eyes widened. No... They couldn't have been. Westwood locals? The stranger had snatched up a few discarded maps from disgruntled travelers, they were sure Westwood was on the other side of the globe. The pair of voices claimed they were after the former's brother, whom the latter noted was one of Westwood's best fighters. Without a doubt, they had come to recruit the shadow of Arctos.

Perhaps if a psychic had accompanied the two travelers, they would be privy to the additional life signature in the area. They remained blissfully unaware, forcing their way through a frosted overgrowth. The first to emerge was a tall form clad in thick, crimson-coloured armour - a Scizor, by the markings on his hefty claws and the pair of frail wings adorning his thorax. The lower half of his face was covered by the thick grey scarf he wore around his neck, long enough to wrap around a few times and still trail halfway down his form. The second came soon after, picking viny remnants from his keen-edged tusks. Slightly shorter than the Scizor, this fellow's draconian appearance and deep, olive-coloured scales made him a Haxorus.

"Keep an eye out, Barrix. If that bear trap had caught your foot instead of mine, you'd be in a much sorrier state," the Scizor noted, lifting the broken trap device with a claw, "it's poison-tipped. You're not immune to it, like I am."

"Yeah, yeah," the Haxorus murmured, eyes affixed on the snow before him, "I'll keep an eye out, Rion. Can't imagine why the plains of desolate fucking Arctos has bear traps in it." Well, there was always the possibility it was just the one. Perhaps a hunter had left it there long ago... though the poison looked fresh, it can't have been.

Rion swung his arm back, holding his pincer out in front of Barrix, who stopped dead in his tracks. The look he received from the Scizor effectively silenced him. Rion squinted, glaring out into the sylvan depths before them. He could have sworn he'd spotted a pair of eyes spying on them from the darkness.

"Hey, what's the deal...?" the axe-tusked lizard interjected, tapping his companion on the shoulder.

"What business do you have here?"

The new voice that rang out in the snowy clearing shocked both of them. It was distinctly feminine, so for both of the travelers, that ruled out the other. Their eyes then fell upon the ivory silhouette that had settled in the snow, mere feet from where they were stood, yet it felt like miles between them. This surprised Barrix more than Rion, prompting the dragon to apprehensively take a step back. Upon further study, the four-legged form clad in white fur was assuredly an Absol - disaster incarnate, and one of the country's rarest species. Had it not been for the dark face and shimmering horn, the Absol might have been perfectly camouflaged against the blanched field.

"I bloody knew we were being watched." Rion muttered under his breath, eyes still narrowed as he kept a firm focus on the mysterious being before them. Raising his voice, he continued. "I would kindly request that you step aside. We're looking for-"

"Why should I care who you're looking for, criminal?" she interrupted, eyes flickering with disapproval as they bore into Rion's own. He certainly hadn't expected her to know who he was, all the way in this distant corner of the world.

"...Excuse me?" he reacted, feelings of unease growing. Something about this reeked of distraction or ambush to the Scizor.

"I know your type, Red Claw. People like you only come around places like this looking for trouble. Why should I believe you're no different?" Stoic as he was, with that look in her eyes he felt like she wouldn't even need to talk and he'd still feel like she was interrogating him. Just who was this Absol? Nonetheless, he persisted - he wasn't about to let some wild beast order him around. Distancing his legs, Barrix noticed a change in posture that indicated a readiness to fight. He stepped aside a little to give his companion some more space, not quite responding the same way just yet, but certainly ready to help out. The Absol had evidently noticed this, though she didn't seem to care.

"I'm after... a Garchomp. He traveled to Arctos and he's been missing for six years." he told her, pincers snapping threateningly. He had the type advantage, he thought - there was nothing she could do if she chose violence over a reasonable resolution.

"...Black scales, yes?" Barrix's eyes widened. So he was still alive and kicking... and not only that, but the Absol knew about him? This was a huge revelation to the Haxorus. Rion himself was quite impressed someone with such a crippling weakness to icy climates could survive in Arctos for that length of time, even if he didn't look outwardly impressed.

"He's my brother." Barrix started, stepping out in front of Rion and towards the Absol. She reared back slightly, distrusting of the dragon, but she listened nonetheless. "Please, Absol. I just want to see my brother again. He's been gone for eight years."

"...Hmmph." The Absol was torn. She held nothing but disrespect for the scarf-clad Scizor before her, who even now looked poised to strike, yet his companion seemed so much more compassionate and willing to work things out. The moral crisis of whether to give the Shadow's location away to a notorious criminal and murderer out of respect for the Haxorus. She chose to believe his claim that he was the Garchomp's brother, the look of desperation in his eyes and the air of honesty surrounding him swaying the Absol into sympathising. She turned her head to the side, still outwardly scowling while she mulled it over. "He would never forgive me for this... but I can't keep you from him. The sibling he hasn't seen in a third of his lifespan." She sighed. "...I can't deny you that."

Rion blinked. He hadn't expected Barrix to morally floor her that quickly... or at all, for that matter. Perhaps he underestimated the brotherly bond. Lowering his claws, he took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Thanks," Barrix responded, returning to his feet and glancing down at the Absol, "for understanding. There's some shit goin' on, and we need his help."

The Absol sighed and stepped forward, between and past the pair of travelers, seated on her hinds as she gazed into the thick forest depths behind them. She'd never let travelers past her before. This was definitely a first... but she felt like she could trust the Haxorus. As for the Scizor...

"Don't think I'm letting you off easy, Red Claw. I'll be back for you later."

Rion's head snapped around to look at the Absol, but... well, she'd disappeared into the thick fog of the night. She hadn't even left any footprints in her wake. Though one thing was for sure, he'd be sleeping with one eye open tonight.

"...Hnnh..." Rion rumbled, folding his arms as he began trailing the path the white-furred creature had once obstructed.

"What's that?" Barrix queried, head tilted as he followed beside his companion.

"Ah, it's nothing. I get into these situations a lot." He shrugged. "Suppose I'm just not used to being on the receiving end."

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 **Aaaayup. There we go. I'll probably do a couple more of these in the near future, maybe some short (10k-20k words) individual stories for each of the characters I'll be establishing. I guess that's gonna' be that.**


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